You could be forgiven for thinking Jeremy Clarkson left a curse on the Top Gear set when he was ousted from the BBC show last year.
While Clarkson himself prepares for the debut of his new Amazon Prime programme with James May and Richard Hammond, things have been going from bad to worse on his old stomping ground.
Even the arrival of Matt LeBlanc as a co-host hasn’t helped stem the tide of unwelcome news. This timeline shows the many varied ways in which Chris Evans and his fellow presenters have suffered.
Morning from the new Top Gear team. All present and correct and smelling of eau de petrol. pic.twitter.com/y8X3uVb2uH
— Chris Evans (@achrisevans) February 11, 2016
December 2015 – Leaked announcement of co-hosts Sabine Schmitz and Chris Harris is received underwhelmingly
December 2015 – Presenter Chris Evans admits he won’t be able to work on both Top Gear and TFI Friday, ruling out a long-term return for the latter
January 2016 – The Sun claims Evans’ inability to talk and drive simultaneously is holding up recordings
January 2016 – Evans is seemingly spotted throwing up at the roadside after filming
February 2016 – The full presenter line-up is announced, and the internet roundly mocks the appointments
February 2016 – New co-host Rory Reid is forced to explain himself after photo of him with a pair of shotguns comes to light
February 2016 – A vintage Mustang breaks down during one of the most recent recording sessions.
Evans, LeBlanc and co will hope this is the end of the bad news, and that Top Gear can recover to earn itself the prime time BBC1 slot it so covets.
